Page 36 of Sophia & Cameron

Her brother’s pointed look said it all. He knew that she didn’t have any intention of settling down. She didn’t do second dates, even though he had mentioned that she ought to give a couple of the guys she’d been out with more of a chance. What would he say if he knew that she was finally open to something more—and with none other than the guy he’d just hired?

Mateo frowned. “Sophia,” he warned.

Giving him her most innocent smile, she batted her lashes. “What?”

“You need to steer clear of the guys who work for me. I don’t want it to get messy.”

She huffed a laugh. “You’re not the boss of me.”

“Technically, I am. And I’m his boss, too. Just do me a favor and keep it clean, okay?”

The temptation to roll her eyes and fight back was a strong one. Mateo had a good point. Cameron hadn’t been working for them long. And it would be complicated if he was forced to stick around if things didn’t work out between the two of them.

“Is that a yes?”

She glanced at her brother briefly. “You know me. I’m not interested in anything serious.” It wasn’t the answer he wasasking for. And he knew she could flirt up a storm if she wanted to. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice that something had changed between herself and their most recent hire. Sophia placed her nearly empty mug into the sink. “I’m going to get to work.”

Thankfully, Mateo didn’t question her further. He could read her better than most, and she wasn’t ready to admit that Cameron had been the first guy to get past her defenses since Brent had broken her heart.

The second she saw Cameron, her heart did that fluttering thing she hadn’t experienced in five years. He flashed her a smile, and for the first time in a long time, her returning smile was automatic.

“Hey,” she murmured.

“Hey.” He moved past her to get something off a shelf, and his hand brushed against hers. Sparks flickered up her arm from the contact, and she shivered.

“I’ve got some training exercises I want to do with some of the horses. Will that be a problem?” she asked.

Cameron glanced at her and shook his head. “Nope. As long as it’s not too strenuous.”

“Nothing they can’t handle.” She set to work gathering the lead ropes she’d need for the horses she planned on taking out to the corral. It was impossible to keep track of how many times she felt Cameron’s eyes on her. Each time she did, she’d glance at him and catch him staring.

More than once, she caught herself smiling at the attention, and she shook her head. They were grown adults, and yet it felt like she’d gone back in time to when she’d been a hormonal teenager. She found she wanted any excuse to get close to him, to smell his cologne and to hold his hand.

But they had work to do. Both of them.

The beautiful golden-brown horse trotted around the perimeter of the corral, tossing her head as she let out a happywhinny. Her muscles bunched and flexed perfectly. If she wasn’t a working horse, she would have been perfect for dressage.

Sophia clicked her tongue and flicked her whip to the ground with a crack to get the horse moving a little faster. This creature was the perfect specimen for breeding, and they were going to get beautiful offspring if all went well.

Her eyes lifted at the sound of boots crushing against the gravel. One of the wranglers that Mateo had hired darted up to the corral, colliding with it. He was out of breath and his eyes were wide with concern. “Where’s Mateo?”

Sophia frowned. The last she’d seen him, he’d left in his truck to run a few errands. “I don’t know, but I can call him for you.”

He nodded. “It’s urgent.”

Sophia moved to unlatch the lead rope from the horse she was working with and pulled out her phone. “What’s going on? Is someone hurt?” Her brothers had been out working on bringing the cattle back from the farthest pasture they owned. “Are Roman and Marcus?—”

“They’re fine,” he barked. “But you need to call Mateo so he can come out to the northern pasture.”

She nodded, her hands shaking slightly as she dialed her brother’s number.

“Yeah,” he muttered the second he answered.

Sophia’s eyes shifted to the cowboy, and she sucked in a deep breath before exhaling. “Something’s wrong in the northern pasture.”

“What’s the matter?” The alarm in his voice carried through the speaker loud enough to prompt the cowboy in front of her to offer more of an explanation. “Wolf attack.”

She exhaled sharply. “Wolf attack,” she repeated.